Miscellaneous Projects #1

1. Frame for a 10” x 20” lithograph of a photo. The frame is reclaimed local red oak that served as siding for a barn a few miles away. Joinery is half-laps (wife likes those for some reason, better than miters). I routed a simple 45 chamfer on the inside of the frame to reveal some of the oak, then finished the whole thing with a couple coats of Waterlox.

2. Mudroom bench with shoe storage. This is made from “recycled” materials (meaning stuff I found at the dump and put in my truck after emptying out the stuff I took there), including discarded studs and 1/2” plywood. The top is 3/4” plywood with maple, iron-on edge banding. Finish is 3 coats of amber shellac. May daughter loves this thing—she calls it “my bench.” And yes, it is completely loaded up with sparkly, pink shoes and boots.

3. Battery storage rack. Thank you, Steve Ramsey, for the idea. I chose not to use the plexiglass front because I thought it would make it harder to load/clear jams.

4. Gate for deck. Except for the gate hardware, this was free—made exclusively with cut-offs found at the dump. Someone was apparently building a deck and just threw away all the pressure-treated lumber they didn’t use. We needed a gate to keep my 2-year-old on the deck, so for $15 total, I built this. I call it my “can you figure out how it’s held together” gate…

5. New fireplace surround, including mantle. There was a leak in the left corner that required me to replace all of the drywall (twice). Since I had the wall ripped up anyway, I replaced it with ledger stone and made a new mantle.

6. Cabinet for electrical panel. My father-in-law had a new garage built and wanted something to enclose the new electrical panel. I made him this out of scrap pine, poplar, and 1/4” birch plywood. He’s going to paint it.

Your gate is nice looking and a well done reclaimed materials project. If that is pressure treated lumber you will want to keep your 2 year old away from it as he/she might pickup undesirable chemicals from the treated wood. IMHO